1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope connection instrument and an endoscope cleaning/disinfecting apparatus, and specifically relates to an endoscope connection instrument to be connected to an endoscope fitting and an endoscope cleaning/disinfecting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, endoscopes are widely used for examinations and treatments of insides of bodies. Since endoscopes are each inserted into a body, the endoscopes are cleaned after use. Therefore, endoscope cleaning apparatuses for cleansing endoscopes are also widely used.
In endoscope cleaning using an endoscope cleaning apparatus, not only surfaces of the endoscope but also the inside of each of ducts provided inside is cleaned. Thus, fittings communicably connected to respective ducts inside the endoscope and the endoscope cleaning apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as “cleaning apparatus”) are connected via cleaning tubes, and, e.g., a cleaning liquid, a disinfectant liquid or a rinsing liquid sent from the cleaning apparatus is sent into the respective ducts of the endoscope, whereby the inside of each of the ducts is cleaned and disinfected. Since a connection part between each cleaning tube and the corresponding fitting remains in a close contact state even though some kind of load is imposed on the connection part and the inside of the corresponding duct is hermetically sealed, the flow rate less changes, ensuring a stable capability of cleaning the inside of the duct, and also enabling detection of the cleaning tube coming off from the fitting based on a flow rate change.
Furthermore, various measures for cleaning and disinfecting an outer surface of a connection fitting of an endoscope to which a cleaning tube is connected have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 10-234666 proposes a suction duct cleaning instrument in which a cover barrel that surrounds a periphery of a suction tube connection fitting is provided and a cleaning liquid outflow hole for allowing a cleaning liquid to flow out is provided in the cover barrel.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-40240 discloses a cleaning adapter for an endoscope, and discloses a structure in which a seal member is brought into close contact with an upper face of a valve casing.